By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Monday night's "Viewer's Choice" WWE Raw with the NXT Invasion angle averaged a 3.09 rating over the course of all three hours. The regular two hours of Raw from 9:00 to 11:05 p.m. EST averaged an above-average 3.34 rating.

Average viewership over the course of the three hours was 4.35 million viewers. The regular two hours did strong numbers post-WrestleMania with average viewership of 4.78 million viewers.

The bonus first hour opened weak with 3.49 million viewers. The second hour increased to 4.61 million viewers for the standard first hour. The third hour increased again to 4.95 million viewers for the standard second hour.

The "Viewer's Choice" three-hour Raw was down compared to the previous three-hour Raw on April 26 with the annual Draft and Smackdown cameos.

The Draft episode averaged 4.63 million viewers. The first hour of the "Viewer's Choice" Raw was down 11.0 percent compared to the first hour of the Draft. The second hour on Monday was down nearly 8.0 percent compared to the second hour of the Draft episode.

The third hour of each show was just about even in viewership, but Monday's show scored a 3.44 third hour rating compared to a 3.30 third hour rating on April 26.

The following is a break down of Monday's show compared to the Draft episode on April 26.

6/7 1st hour - 2.60 rating & 3.49 million viewers
4/26 1st hour - 2.60 rating & 3.91 million viewers

6/7 2nd hour - 3.24 rating & 4.61 million viewers
4/26 2nd hour - 3.30 rating & 4.99 million viewers

6/7 3rd hour - 3.44 rating & 4.95 million viewers
4/26 3rd hour - 3.30 rating & 4.98 million viewers

Caldwell's Analysis: From WWE's perspective, it's a good thing over one million viewers didn't tune in for the bonus first hour, as that was a brutal hour of television. The audience built steadily after the first hour, but the Draft episode did more consistent numbers over the course of three hours. WWE and USA Network are in a dangerous area watering down their "special episode" editions of Raw, especially after the commercial-free episode last month only led to marginal gains.

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